Molenbrock v. St. Louis & Clarksville Packet Co.
District Court, E.D. Missouri
In Admiralty. Libel in personam. The libelants state in their libel that the libelee agreed with them that its steam-boat Dora should tow a barge which had been chartered by libelants, and loaded with wheat, from the Illinois river to St. Louis, Missouri; that said steam-boat took the barge in tow and proceeded on its way down the river, but before reaching its destination, and while nearly a half a mile outside of the main channel of the Mississippi, and while attempting to…
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In Admiralty. Libel in personam. The libelants state in their libel that the libelee agreed with them that its steam-boat Dora should tow a barge which had been chartered by libelants, and loaded with wheat, from the Illinois river to St. Louis, Missouri; that said steam-boat took the barge in tow and proceeded on its way down the river, but before reaching its destination, and while nearly a half a mile outside of the main channel of the Mississippi, and while attempting to run through a chute in said river, near the eastern shore, through gross negligence on the part of the officer of said…
1Opinion of the CourtTreat, J.
The rules of law by which the rights of the parties are to be determined are not disputed. This was a towage contract; the decisions concerning which are collected in Desty, Shipp. & Adm. 339 et seq. The libelee was bound to exercise ordinary care, skill, and diligence. In this, as in most cases of like character, there is a great diversity of opinion by experts. Under such diversity it is the duty of the court to reconcile diversities by seizing upon physical facts in the light of which truth can be ascertained. The contention by libel-ants is that respondent's tow-boat ran down, at the then…
2Cited by1 opinion
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